The President's Message

June 2010

Rick Curry

Thank you to the members who made it out to our rescheduled meeting on May 1, and thanks to Harley Hahn for his perspectives on how computerized social networking has evolved from its origins in Usenet newsgroups.

Another reminder that elections are coming up. Expect announcements at our next meeting, and let us know if you want to propose things. Now is a great time to think about something you would like to see happening in our club, especially if you can help make it happen.

There is a link on the club home page at www.cipcug.org for the CIPCUG Google group and calendar. The CIPCUG Google group is where we are making announcements about the club (should we change the date of an event, for instance). We also post time-sensitive product offers on select computer products we expect club members to be interested in.

I have been working with the Google group for the past few months. The usual Internet spam has not been a problem. I am recommending this tool to club members.

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Do you know what your hook looks like?
Most of us have one. Around the turn of the century an e-mail with "I Love You" in the subject was a good enough "hook" to spread a virus like wildfire.

The tried and true promise of something for nothing is the basis of the infamous Nigerian 419 scam, and "Your PC might be infected" (one of my weaknesses) has arguably become an industry unto itself because the message is so morbidly fascinating.

Last month, the Air Force confirmed its suspicion that airmen on a lonely island like Guam could be cajoled into pouring their hearts out if the right hook was used. In this case, the pretend spies in the exercise claimed to be reporters following a rumor of a new "Transformers" movie being shot on the island. So effective was the ruse that people began phoning in from outside the base, apparently getting the phony contact information from someone inside the base who had been duped by the exercise. The scammers keep finding new ways to bait our hooks. It helps if you can remember what your hook looks like.